Mithril
by Professor03
Summary: Fili and Kili poke their noses around when they find out that Thorin gave Bilbo mithril chain mail.


"Uncle, you know very well how much that mithril chain mail was worth. If you claim to dislike Bilbo so much, why did you give it to him?" Kili, who knew very well why Bilbo had been given it, posed the question.

Thorin was taken aback by the unexpected question but quickly came up with a reasonable sounding answer.

"He still does not have any proper armor and it was fitting for him to receive it, as he was the one who got us this far." He raised an eyebrow at his nephew, a silent dare to question his reply.

Kili nodded before walking away, leaving Thorin with just his thoughts. Why had he given the hobbit one of the more valuable items in the hoard of precious metals and gems? He saw his nephews talking to Bilbo in a very animated discussion. Bilbo was flushed and shaking his head fervently while Fili and Kili exchanged knowing looks. Bilbo looked over him and quickly looked away after meeting Thorin's gaze.

The King himself looked at his feet and was a little embarrassed when he finally admitted that he did indeed have feelings for the hobbit that were more than that of trust and loyalty. After deciding that he could no longer lie to himself about how he felt towards Bilbo, he pledged to himself that he would let the object of his affection know, one way or another.

"That chain mail you're wearing is worth more than you think." Kili poked the center of Bilbo's chest. "He wouldn't have given that to just anyone." He waggled his eyebrows.

"Are you trying to say," Bilbo became but Kili cut him off.

"Yes, that's exactly what we're saying. We've seen the way you look at each and both of you two are too proud to do anything about so we will."

"There are plenty of reasons as to why he gave it to me, none of them involving any sort of romantic feelings." He wrung his hands and cast a sideways glance at the King Under the Mountain. There was a slightly uncomfortable silence between the three before Fili said, "Well go on. Name a few for us. Since clearly, we aren't looking at this situation the right way."

There was a certain smugness in his voice as he and his brother snickered at Bilbo's inability to produce even one reason.

"Well, maybe you're right but it doesn't matter because the feeling isn't mutual," he said matter of factly.

"Are you really going to fight this every step of the way?" Kili was getting irritated with Bilbo's stubbornness. Fili put his hand on his brother's arm to as if to silence him.

"Why are you getting so defensive? It's not a big deal if you do feel that way." Fili's voice was soft, trying to coax even the smallest bit of information from their burglar.

Bilbo blushed a little and looked down. "It's not right for two men to be together. In the Shire,"

"Are we in the Shire?" Kili didn't let Bilbo finish his statement, earning a friendly elbow to the ribcage from his counterpart.

"What he was trying to say, is that no one here will bat an eyelash." He looked at Bilbo with an eyebrow raised and a smirk on his lips.

"I'm not so sure about that," Bilbo said as he looked around and spotted several members of the company looking at them with curiosity, wondering what was going on.

"Oh really?" Again Kili let self-control fly out the window as he turned and kissed his brother full on the lips, in a way that was clearly not of sibling love. No one said anything but some smiled in a way that showed how fondly they looked at the two.

Bilbo realized that no one really did care and his attitude changed, but not by much.

"What of it if I do feel that way? I'm just a hobbit and he's a king."

"For Durin's sake! Would you just talk to him?" Even Fili was losing his patience with the conversation. He took a breath. "Trust us, we've known our uncle for long enough to see it. And you don't exactly cover it that well."

Bilbo turned again to look at the dwarf he had been pining over for months and smiled weakly when he caught his eye. His heart skipped a beat when the smile was returned.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I'll go talk to him." With that he set off to go the leader of the company.

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**Just another prompt from Tumblr. Review and let me know what you think! I hope you liked it! :D**


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